Sunday, June 26, 2005

Another interesting story on Judge Luttig

This story on the horse race to become the next Supreme Court justice begins: "When Mike Luttig stood up as a groomsman in John Roberts' wedding here nine years ago, more than a few people could have predicted they again would someday be sharing the spotlight."

The article includes this example of their humor:

"On his formal stationery, Luttig, as a joke, applied for a first-year associate's job at Roberts' law firm, because the pay was higher than that of a federal judge. Roberts, who then was still an appellate lawyer, turned Luttig down, writing that first-year associates do not get to wear black robes, have three law clerks or get life tenure."

Also, of Judge Luttig, the article says:

"As a judge, Luttig is widely considered an ardent conservative, but his record reveals his independence, as do recent analyses of his opinions by several political scientists. He has stressed, to his law clerks and in a recent speech, intellectual honesty and adherence to precedent. He tells law clerks they will be fired if they fail to show him contradicting authority on a particular issue or tell him exactly how they view the case, even if they do not share his views."